Yan Fuchang addresssing a press conference at Ritz-Carlton yesterday.
DOHA: Yan Fuchang, the former Chinese foreign minister, currently visiting Qatar has described the formation of the new Syrian opposition alliance in Doha as a positive step towards dialogue and negotiation to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.
Fuchang is heading a delegation from the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, which is in Doha on the first leg of a tour to the Arab region. Addressing a press conference at Ritz-Carlton yesterday, Fuchang said the China didn’t support any government in the Arab Spring countries including Syria.
“This is because we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of any other country. Political change in any Arab country is the people’s choice. China gives its support to international decisions to achieve political solutions. China supported the Syrian mission of both Kofi Annan and Lakdar Brahimi,” said Fuchang.
He said China never added “fire to the fuel” but it called to stop violence and war. The UN does not have the mandate to take a decision to change the regime of any country because it is for the people who should decide that, he added.
“We have already recognised the Syrain National Council and we invited them to visit China before. We tried to mediate between the regime and the opposition but the officials have not responded until now,” said Fuchang.
Lakdar Brahimi visited China and “we discussed with him a number of issues including establishment of a transitional entity comprising different political parties and reaching a consensus on how to manage the situation during the provisional period,” he added.
“We agreed with him that the solution must be political not military,” said Fuchang. He said the Arab-Chinese relations were historical and remained stable.
The Peninsula
